An escaped mental patient named Albert Blume has taken a hostage and is threatening to kill her. Commissioner Loeb sends SWAT commander Branden to the scene of the apartment to take care of the situation. Lt. Gordon hears about the maneuver and intercepts Branden before he can do anything rash. Jim enters the building alone and manages to single-handedly defeat Blume without causing him undue harm. He knows that if Branden's team went in, the results would have been disastrous.

A few nights later, Bruce Wayne makes his first official debut as Batman. He attacks a group of teenage punks stealing electronics and intercepts them on an apartment fire escape. The fight proves difficult and one teen nearly loses his life. However, he succeeds in apprehending all three and promises to improve his technique before venturing out for a second time.

"Ladies. Gentlemen. You have eaten well."

Over the course of several weeks, rumors of a "Bat-Man" begin circulating all throughout Gotham City. Even Detective Flass experiences a chance encounter with the mysterious vigilante.

Lt. Gordon holds a meeting with the other cops and addresses the Batman situation. Flass gives his jaded eyewitness account of the Batman, but neglects to include details involving his own illicit affairs at the time of the encounter.

Four nights later, the Batman breaks into the Mayor's mansion. The mayor is hosting a party with several key city patrons including Commissioner Loeb and criminal entrepreneur Carmine Falcone. Batman throws a smoke grenade through the window and warns them that from this point forward none of them are safe. Following the event, Loeb appoints Gordon the lead investigator in a special task force designed to bring down the Batman.

"Thinks he's a damned Robin Hood. He dies."

Gordon begins investigating a chain of suspects – a chain that takes him all of the way to the District Attorney's office. He interviews assistant D.A. Harvey Dent and even begins to suspect him of being the Batman. However, Dent has a solid alibi for his whereabouts and Gordon crosses him off the suspect list. In truth, Dent is keenly aware of the Batman's presence and has been secretly aiding him.

Later, Gordon and detective Sarah Essen are nearly killed by a runaway truck driver asleep at the wheel. Batman arrives on the scene and Gordon witnesses him rescue a wino who has fallen in the path of the out of control vehicle. He commands Batman to halt, but the vigilante darts down an alleyway. SWAT officers arrive and open fire, but Gordon begins to suspect that the Batman is not the evil creature that he read about in his files.

Batman runs inside of a derelict building for shelter. Commissioner Loeb consults with the SWAT officers over the radio and authorizes the use of deadly force. Chief Branden uses a helicopter to firebomb the apartment building.

Jefferson Skeevers makes a cameo appearance in flashback only. He appears next in Batman #407.

Trivia

Barbara Eileen Gordon remarks that "(You) don't have to go to Metropolis... for a Man of Steel", indicating that Superman is already active as a super-hero by the time Bruce Wayne first dons the costume of the Batman.

The tagline for this issue is, "He has trained and planned and waited eighteen years. He thinks he's ready..."

Comissioner Loeb is seen wearing a Mickey Mouse badge at the Mayor's party.

Links and References

After the Crisis on Infinite Earths, a 1985–1986 maxiseries which completely reset the continuity of the entire DCUniverse, all of DC's major characters and franchises needed to be updated to reflect the changes in the events of their lives. Multiple story arcs were put out to explain these rebooted versions of popular characters.